A Home within a Home

   It feels so good to be back in the town I grew up in and starting such a faith-growing stage of life. We have seen God provide abundantly already, which only adds to my excitement for this new chapter. One of the coolest provisions is our home within a home. One of my best friends and roommates from college, and her husband, have opened their home to share with us while we are living in Metamora.

Our super relaxing bedroom. Anything is better than a dorm room!

Alex's Office- we can't live anywhere without our favorite books.

1 of our 2 new friends that follow us everywhere. Meet Kobe.

It is such a calm and stress free environment and we love having Morgan and Mike around to hang out with! Last night, we went through hundreds of old pictures from college and just laughed and laughed at some of the hilarious things we would do to put off homework for a few hours. We will be spending the next __?___ amount of months reconnecting with our ministry partners, meeting new ones, and sharing our long term vision for working with Cru at U of I.
  I have some creative ideas brewing for this blog, so stay tuned for some new types of entries.
Grace,
Jess

We Have A New Name!

   You may not have known, but for the last 2 years Campus Crusade for Christ has been doing an incredible amount of research and brainstorming to come up with a name that has less barriers to people hearing about Jesus. The name has served for 60 years, but even in the 80's Bill Bright discussed the need for a new name that had less negative connotations.

   So last night, in front of over 5000 staff members they unveiled the new name and logo:

The humility, prayer, and thoughtfulness that went behind this change is incredible.  You may have lots of questions about the new name and I would direct you to this FAQ website.

In the meantime, here are a few of my thoughts:
-I love it!  U of I has been using this name for the ministry for years!

-Many people are confused since this seems like just a shortened word for "crusade".  However, only people who previously knew our organization as Campus Crusade for Christ will associate the words.  For new people we meet, "cru" is a word that currently has no meaning. The organization will give it meaning as we strive to be a community of people who live and follow Jesus and proclaim his name boldly.  An example of this type of branding is "google" or "starbucks"; two words that once were nothing, but now have significant meaning to the world.

-Another concern is that "Christ" has been taken out of the name. Over and over again at this conference, we have been reassured that our mission and our passion have not changed. We still exist so that every person has a chance to hear about Jesus. A name was chosen that can best take the Gospel to the world and invite people into spiritual conversations with as few barriers as possible. I am excited to engage with people about "cru" and be able to freely converse about Jesus instead of just simply saying it in the name.

So now, seriously, continue reading more in the FAQ website because someone has spent many hours into answering all of our questions into this change!

Also, feel free to email us with any other questions!

Grace,
Jess

Welcome to the Blogging World!

This is my first try at this whole "blogosphere". I am a little apprehensive since I am not witty nor insightful, but as my friends keep moving further away, and I make more and more from out of state, it will be worth it to stay in touch.  Give me grace for the construction around here while I figure everything out!

A little update on New Staff Training in Colorado:
-We are exhausted! I am emotionally drained from the workload and Alex is recovering from his Harry Potter Hangover. (He went to the midnight premiere last night and fell asleep at 8pm!)
-We spent all day, every day this week learning how to develop a team of ministry partners that share our vision for reaching the world with the message of Christ.
-We even have to go in tomorrow morning to learn more!  (No sleeping in on our beloved Saturday!)

-Next week there is a lot to look forward to though:
    -National Staff Conference brings in 8,000 Cru staff from around the US including many of our friends from U of I!!!
    -We will get to hear talks from Francis Chan, David Platt, Josh McDowell, Tim Hawkins, and rock out to The David Crowder Band!  (However, if you know how I feel about concerts and rock music you know the exclamation point is in there for Alex's sake.)
 
Love to you all! See you back in Illinois soon!